Foodshare

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

SNAP May Be Best Path To Seniors' Health

A recent study demonstrated that access to SNAP results in fewer hospital and nursing home admissions. Researchers studied the entire population of 69,000 Maryland seniors who are on both Medicaid and Medicare (known as “dual eligibles”).

The results were remarkable. Access to SNAP reduced a senior’s likelihood of admission into a hospital by 14% and reduced the likelihood of entrance into a nursing home by 23%. The study also found that the more SNAP dollars seniors received for healthy food, the lower the odds they would have to spend additional days in a hospital and nursing home. And, because connecting seniors to SNAP results in lower healthcare utilization and better health, it also leads to health care savings. The researchers estimated that connecting dual eligibles to SNAP delivers $2,100 in annual health care savings per senior enrolled.